Female James Bond on the horizon.

magic_murph · 22-09-2021 2:53pm #1

Thoughts.

By all means build a brand around a female led spy movie but making James bond a female character just wont sell.

flazio · 22-09-2021 2:54pm

I hear it'll be a female Agent 007 with a brand new name.

I see sheep · 22-09-2021 2:55pm

Bond movies are rubbish.

banie01 · 22-09-2021 2:56pm

Bond is bond, retconning that to a carousel code name is IMO pointless.

That said, build a movie around a female 00 in the Bond universe. Let the story lead where it will but don't force such any easily shunned gender swapping into a franchise. It's tokenism IMO.

10000maniacs · 22-09-2021 2:58pm

I can't wait for the trans-gender version of Batman.

JimmyVik · 22-09-2021 2:58pm

It will be like womens soccer.

People only read about it because they clicked on a link that said something like "Chelsea trounce Arsenal".

They would never have clicked on it if it made clear it wasnt the mens teams.

There are some great spy action movies with female lead characters. Keep doing that. But making James Bond a woman. Not going to work.

Wibbs · 22-09-2021 3:12pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117924255#Comment_117924255

Plus the producers/studios wouldn't risk it. Too much at stake with that franchise and changing Bond into a woman would almost certainly hit sales. When Doctor Who did it, after an initial flurry of interest, likely at the novelty, ratings fell off a cliff, at one point hitting the lowest viewing figures in that franchise's history. When the Oceans Eleven franchise went to an all woman cast it had the lowest profit of the series, though it did turn a healthy profit at least. The all women Ghostbusters tanked.

Well done franchises with women front and centre can be very good, popular and make squillions, the Hunger Games a good example. Never mind the Alien series, but gender switching originally male stuff no.

Gregor Samsa · 22-09-2021 3:15pm

I look forward to her sexually harassing Mr. Moneypenny.

Spook_ie · 22-09-2021 3:16pm

There was a film "Jane Bond" released in 1975

Look it up at your peril 🤐

nj27 · 22-09-2021 3:18pm

Just have him identify as female

mariaalice · 22-09-2021 3:18pm

No, a really good female baddie from whatever country is the current enmey of the UK or the US, she would be a super-wealthy billionaire and psychopath, that would be interesting.

B.A._Baracus · 22-09-2021 3:19pm

If the world wants a woman secret agent spy then create a new property. Heck, set it in the James bond universe if they want. But don't make James Bond Jane Bond.

I would say the same if the world wanted a male Mary Poppins. Just make a male magical nanny property. But I can't help but feel if someone did say they wanted to see a male version of Mary Poppins they would be met with comments like "well that's a bit sexest"

JupiterKid · 22-09-2021 3:35pm

Ian Fleming would be spinning in his grave at this news. 😏🤨

Fleming's Bond was an out and out misogynist, racist, imperialist and probable homophobe. In one early Bond book, Fleming describes a sexual encounter between Bond and a woman as "having a tang of rape." James Bond does not really belong in the 21st Century.

James Bond is a Cold War creation and his raison d'etre vanished when the Cold War ended in the early 1990s.

Much as I love the Bond franchise, it has become formulaic, predictable and very tired and should be put to rest soon. As long as it continues to makes a shed load of money, it won't.

A female Bond would be the kiss of death for the franchise, which makes a ton of money for Eon Productions. A separate woman secret agent film would probably work, but not as Bond.

billyhead · 22-09-2021 3:37pm

Absolute Woke horse manure. Bond should be a male and entertaining any other gender is stupid.

Atlantic Dawn · 22-09-2021 3:41pm

Janet Bond, work away, first remake could be "The Person With The Golden Gun".

EmmetSpiceland · 22-09-2021 3:51pm

I dunno, the nerds all got over the Starbuck character being a woman in the ‘Battlestar Galactica’ reboot. Maybe they’d get over a similar change to the Bond “franchise”.

Sonics2k · 22-09-2021 4:02pm

Remember when people lost their mind about the possible casting of Idris Elba and then went mental claiming it had nothing to do with racism. Bet they'll be along soon claiming not wanting a female Bond has nothing to do with women too.

Quantum Erasure · 22-09-2021 4:19pm

I always thought they should bring out a Perfect Dark movie

Quantum Erasure · 22-09-2021 4:21pm

Dr No means No...

Larbre34 · 22-09-2021 4:24pm

Nothing wrong with a woman secret agent or a black secret agent or a gay secret agent or a trans secret agent, but the character of James Bond is a straight, white, early middle aged, British man as created by Fleming. If thats not the profile, then it's not James Bond.

If that is objectionable, then I wish new creators and producers all the luck in the World building a new brand from scratch, which I've no doubt the right people could do very well indeed.

Tony EH · 22-09-2021 4:27pm

It's a stupid and unnecessary move.

If they want to make a movie or movie series about a female superspy, do so. But sex changing Bond is ridiculous.

And I'm not even a Bond fan.

generic_throwaway · 22-09-2021 4:28pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117924747#Comment_117924747

The character has already been five or six completely different men. The character can be whatever the creators want it to be. People getting angry about this sort of thing is completely baffling - if you don't like it, don't watch it.

In years to come people will be so amused by people getting angry about this stuff, the way people used to get angry when women wore trousers or something.

AustinLostin · 22-09-2021 4:29pm

The worst part about it all is having to listen to the discourse. No movie could be as bad as that.

Quantum Erasure · 22-09-2021 4:30pm

>The character has already been five or six completely different men.

its been the same character, played by five or six completely different men.

Sonic the Shaghog · 22-09-2021 4:34pm

I also never understood why they just dont do 00 spin offs.

They talk about Idris Elba make him 009 and give him a chance and I'd guarantee it would do a lot better and the idea well received by 99.9% of Bond fans compared to just to making bond black.

It would give great scope for cross overs etc depending might even launch some new popular characters.

It just seems to me taking an already established bond and trying to change the gender or skin color smacks of activists who deep down believe that black people or women, etc aren't good enough to carry their own and need a step up

22-09-2021 4:34pm

Look what happened when they cast an all female Ghostbusters. Absolutely dire.

Can they not come up with original class female led movies? Do they have to bastardise everything to appease the woke crowd.

Make more kick ass protagonists like Ellen Ripley..

magic_murph · 22-09-2021 4:35pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117924765#Comment_117924765

What movie would you consider necessary??

Tony EH · 22-09-2021 4:39pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117924814#Comment_117924814

I never said I considered any movie necessary. I said sex changing a character was unnecessary.

Why can't people read easy to understand sentences any more? 🙄

whisky_galore · 22-09-2021 4:40pm

Can't they come up with original stuff rather than tweaking an already tired franchise?

Cienciano · 22-09-2021 4:41pm

I hope they do, it's hilarious seeing people getting upset over it.

Wibbs · 22-09-2021 4:41pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117924548#Comment_117924548

Battlestar Galactica had a long gap between the original and the reboot and the original was seen as a bit camp, so a gritty update was a clean slate in many ways. I remember the original as a kid and was initially excited by it showing up on telly, but quickly got bored of it. It didn't have near the staying power of say Star Wars or Trek. Plus it was very much an ensemble cast not focused on one main character, so swapping out one character was less jarring and it was very well written(at first) and miles ahead of the original. The Bond thing is a single character on which the whole kit and caboodle pivots around, so very different on that score.

When they wrote the first Alien flic they had specifically written the parts as gender neutral and Ripley was in the early stages going to be male, but again an ensemble piece. However after its success and Weaver's performance swapping out Ripley for a bloke would have completely ruined the sequel. A very well liked sequel at that and featuring a woman as the focus and hero. Even the alien antagonist is female. Indeed as feminist commentators have noted it's one of the few Hollywood movies, including earnest feminist ones that pretty much ticks all the boxes for a feminist narrative and it does so without being preachy or unrealistic or tokenism and as I said still remains wildly popular. Nobody's accusing Aliens or Ripley of being "woke". A great story and character doesn't need any of that stuff.

The suggestion of having Bond as a woman is marketing to keep interest up, or some misguided notion of hamfisted "equality" outside the studio. I suspect the Idris Elba rumours are similar, though that's a pity as I reckon he'd make a good Bond.

Tony EH · 22-09-2021 4:47pm

..................

whisky_galore · 22-09-2021 4:48pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117924808#Comment_117924808

I came to the female Ghostbusters with an open mind but by god it was an endurance test to make it to the end without switching off. Even the fecking cartoon was better.

sekiro · 22-09-2021 5:00pm

Always wonder why they do this.

Does the market research suggest that this is a potential money maker? Or is it more to do with politics and social issues? Maybe a bit of both?

Before 1962 there were no James Bond movies. So why wouldn't someone who wants to make a movie about spies and action and gadgets etc now just start from scratch?

A lot of movie decisions these days are more about branding it seems but does that mean a lot of the movie going audience isn't interested in the content of movies as much as they are interested in the brand?

I felt the new Star Wars movies were kind of like really poor fan-fiction. It was as if after decades of just slapping the "Star Wars" labelling onto everything from pencil cases to refrigerators they just decided to go wild and slap the "Star Wars" label on rubbish movie ideas. Like JJ Abrams decided to make a homage to the original Star Wars and Disney said "why not just go all the way and put a Star Wars label on it, nobody cares."

They can do what they like with James Bond. It does seem a bit strange though. Why not just stop making them if they are a bit outdated now? Nothing wrong with that. Or are they thinking "The James Bond branding is valuable but everything about the movies needs to go" and that's still going to make money for a while as people follow the branding.

Thelonious Monk · 22-09-2021 5:00pm

Brilliant, it'll wind up the old men on this site to no end. Rabble Rabble rabble.

Strumms · 22-09-2021 5:01pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117924618#Comment_117924618

Would it be ok to have a white, gender fluid actor play Steve Biko in an updated Cry Freedom ?

James Bond is a white, middle class, straight Englishman...that’s as he was written and created.... that’s been the character for 68 years since Ian Fleming created James Bond....

are we at the pathetic stage now where we are rewriting everything just to appease the woke muppfücks ?

007 isn’t the star the central character, James Bond the person is... who is a guy...

if 007 had been different people from book to book and film to film, ok.. but no.

If somebody wants to write 1007 whatever character and run with that, fine...part of the franchise..

breezy1985 · 22-09-2021 5:07pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117924253#Comment_117924253

Haha Batthem

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117924851#Comment_117924851

Yep Bond is just a movie length advert now with more talk in the build up about his new watch/car/phone than plot. Funny enough I got far more angry about the idea of Bond now being a Heineken not a martini drinker than I do him now being a her. Seriously I find the martini far more integral to 007 than his d1k.

The trend that killed Bond wasn't the "woke" one it was copying the superhero trend of everyone having to have some deep emotional backstory (FK mammy issue Bond) and having to line up the "canon" by explaining that Bond is a codename. Did anyone ever really care how Bond kept changing face and age and need an explanation to enjoy it.

Make her a black female who identifies as a dolphin for all I care nothing will be worse than Craig Bond.

The strength or lack thereof of the movies won't matter though cause this tread is clearly designed for a space for people to shout "arrrrg bloody WOMEN" and will run to about 100 pages of said arrrrg

22-09-2021 5:08pm

Casting Sarah Jessica Parker as Jane Bond would be a good way to find out if it's actually possible to make the internet explode.

chicorytip · 22-09-2021 5:09pm

No more Pussy Galore then.

Quantum Erasure · 22-09-2021 5:11pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117925010#Comment_117925010

it'll be more like Mr Pussy now....

breezy1985 · 22-09-2021 5:14pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117924969#Comment_117924969

Actually that could work in a way if a Biko type character (not actually Biko because he was a real person Bond is not) was a LGBT activist in an African country where it's banned.

Biko himself was real not written.

Btw Bond is not English anymore they already made him Scottish in the last movie also an upper class lord not middle class but I suppose that's ok

Capt'n Midnight · 22-09-2021 5:28pm

Atomic Blonde - Salt - Red Sparrow - Hanna - Nikita - Ghost in the Shell

So it's not like they don't make these films. The question is why they don't make more.

The Bond character is a playboy who can mix easily with the rich and powerful who are still mostly male, mostly of European extraction https://www.forbes.com/billionaires/ It's the old boys club. Yes there are Chinese and Japanese and Indian billionaires but it's hard to imagine a female spy/assassin/saboteur having the same reception (not to mention the reception in those countries that are huge markets for the franchise.) Which may also rule out Idris.

007 is a business. Free publicity followed by playing it safe. Everyone wins.

Barb Wire - a remake of Casablanca by someone who's watched Johnny Mnemonic is so bad I can't even hold it up as a counter example.

generic_throwaway · 22-09-2021 5:33pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117924787#Comment_117924787

Yes indeed. The character has been played by men in the 60s all the way to the 2020s. Is this a 90-year old spy?

NSAman · 22-09-2021 5:33pm

Should be fun a "Me Too" Bond, who doesn't drink, doesn't fornicate, has all gay friends, renounces violence, and gets paid less than James?

Sounds like a riveting movie already... much like the female "ghostbusters" success ...:)

generic_throwaway · 22-09-2021 5:36pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117924808#Comment_117924808

Was that dire because they were women instead of men? Or dire because it was just a dire movie? That seems like an important distinction. Cats was directed by a man. By your argument, I guess that's evidence that men shouldn't be directing movies?